Discounters Lidl and Aldi undercut premium sports gear by up to 95% to win Gen Z

Lidl’s carbon‑fiber Padel rackets (€20‑€60) and Aldi’s Reformer‑Pilates board (~€200) are being sold at roughly 85‑95% below premium equivalents, a move aimed at the Gen Z market via TikTok and a newly created leisure‑and‑fitness aisle.

24 August 2026

The Siena-based bank has launched share-only bids for Banco BPM and Banca Generali worth €34bn combined. If fully taken up, the merged group would rank among Europe's ten largest banks and become Italy's second-biggest by loans and branches.

24 August 2026

The German health group sold 7.8 million shares of its dialysis subsidiary to institutional investors, using the proceeds to cut debt and fund its Kabi and Helios growth platforms.

24 August 2026

SoftBank Group has put $200 million into Gravis Robotics, a Munich-based AI-robotics startup, in one of the largest recent venture deals in the European sector.

24 August 2026

Data from Pitchbook, Dealroom and Start-up-Detector shows a widening funding gap as US venture capital returns to Europe with larger cheques but fewer deals.

24 August 2026

With UK input costs rising again in 2026, procurement teams need a disciplined way to challenge supplier price increases without damaging critical relationships.

9 July 2026

Meta employees consumed 73.7 trillion AI tokens in 30 days, then watched the Claudeonomics leaderboard become a warning about tokenmaxxing, AI budgets and enterprise productivity.

8 July 2026

Leaseholders at L&Q’s Windley Close in Forest Hill say they have spent more than four years without a valid EWS1 certificate, watched service charges climb, and then lived through a fire on 25 May 2026 during which, they say, no communal alarm sounded. Regulators have already downgraded L&Q. Here is what residents want the housing association to answer.

8 June 2026

EDF Energy pursues landlords and homeowners for inflated bills based on estimated readings at empty properties, then refers disputed debts to collection agencies before complaints are resolved. Here is how to fight back, with template emails and the UK laws that protect you.

1 June 2026

From reducing anxiety to improving heart health, the latest 2025-2026 studies show that how we breathe may be one of the most powerful — and overlooked — tools for wellbeing. Plus, 3 breathing apps to get started.

20 May 2026